Rune Jørgensen is the fleet manager at Frederiksberg Forsyning (or Frederiksberg Supplies, in English). As we mentioned in our interview with the company’s Head of Strategy, Kristian Beyer, the services provider has 10 of its electric vehicles (EVs) using Nuvve’s V2G commercial offering. Rune is responsible for the entire fleet of 50 vehicles, and has advice for other fleet managers interested in creating a greener footprint with V2G.
Here’s what he had to say.
What do you think about fleets that are starting to use electric vehicles?
It’s becoming more important for companies to introduce EVs to their fleets. I always pay attention when I pass by an EV, and there are definitely more and more of them, especially in the city.
What role does V2G play in your day to day work?
To be honest, I do not hear much about V2G from our employees and that’s fine. No news is good news, but one has to think a bit differently about managing the fleet when using EVs. V2G is not just about charging the cars, but also about recharging and using electricity from them. So, we need to have a detailed plan for our workday. The employees driving the EVs have fixed duties and fixed routes. This makes it easy for us, but if somebody is going on a longer trip, the person needs to let us know in advance or the vehicle won’t be sufficiently charged.
Do you think using V2G is complicated?
It is not. I have an app on my mobile phone which gives me an overview of the 10 EVs. If one of them is plugged in and needs to be charged, I can do it via the app.
What advice do you have for other fleet managers considering shifting to electric vehicles?
You have to care about your fleet’s drivers, and walk them through the shift in a helpful way. There might be some resistance in the beginning – many are afraid of new technology and concerned about whether the cars will be sufficiently charged. So, I recommend making a gradual transition to EVs instead of replacing the whole car fleet at once. This will enable you to assure your driver that if the EV doesn’t work for some reason, they can jump back to the petrol-fueled car. Even if they never use the latter, it can provide a sense of security for drivers, which is very important during the transition phase.
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Rune Jørgensen serves as fleet manager at Frederiksberg Supplies and is responsible for 50 cars, including 10 electric vehicles that uses V2G. Frederiksberg Forsyning A/S is a Danish utility company located in Frederiksberg, Central Copenhagen. They serve private residents and industrial customers in the municipality of Frederiksberg offering water supply, wastewater management, district heating, district cooling and city gas.